


the pain in their chests

by inabsurd



Series: bad things happen bingo [3]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Canon Compliant, Coping, Gen, Nightmares, Sibling Bonding, Stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:01:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24686557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inabsurd/pseuds/inabsurd
Summary: A brief look into how the mystery twins cope with unwanted attention.
Relationships: Dipper Pines & Mabel Pines
Series: bad things happen bingo [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1660279
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	the pain in their chests

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MoominQuartz (IceCreAMS)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceCreAMS/gifts).



> req'd by my buddy Isaiah! this turned out way shorter than I wanted but I DID IT AND THATS WHAT COUNTS!! hope you like it ^_^

_ It begins with the feeling of being watched. With the hair on the back of his neck standing to attention and with sweat clinging to his shoulders. Bill is near, he always is, and he's looking at Dipper. _

* * *

_ It begins with his voice. High, Southern, and with a sweetness that isn't sweet at all. It's nothing like the sugar she covets that dances on her tongue and gives her that cheerful boost for the day; it's thick, teeth rotting, and only serves to mask the burnt taste just below the surface. _

_ He greets her with,  _ " Marshmallow ,"  _ and  _ " Sugar Pie Dumpling ,"  _ and Mabel cringes every time. _

* * *

_ It progresses from there to something more concrete. Usually, Dipper sees him before he hears him. The toxic yellow is impossible to miss no matter what the dream is, but most times he dreams, he dreams in monochrome. It makes his fluorescent colouring burn and the meer sight of the demon always causes his heart to take on a violent rhythm. _

* * *

_ Gideon doesn't wait to make an appearance, too excited to show off his hair and his suits and his love for her than to wait in the shadows like the creep she knows him to be. _

_ He looks at her and she looks at him, fighting down the bad taste that that specific shade of teal blue leaves in her mouth, at the way the sequins shimmer and shift on him like a brightly coloured predator trying to lure in its prey. _

_ What she wouldn’t give to be left alone. _

* * *

_ A greeting of  _ “ PINE TREE! ”  _ is always what follows, loud, nasally, grating. It hurts his ears as much as it hurts his chest which beats its protests in angry, stuttering thumps. _

“ SAY, DID YOU RECONSIDER MY DEAL? I SURE DO MISS HAVING A PUPPET AT MY DISPOSAL? ”

_ He hasn’t. Not after the last one. No matter what Bill offers, the answer is always going to be no. _

_ The demon’s eye tilts up, amused. Bile coats Dipper’s tongue and echoing laughter echoes around him. It reverberates within the confines of his head, vibrates through his entire body to leave him trembling even as he reminds Bill that he’s more than capable of defeating him within his own mindscape. _

_ “ _ CAPABLE? PLEASE, YOU GOT LUCKY _ ,” the triangle duplicates around him, inverting in the spaces and surrounding him on all sides like some kind of firey dome with eyes of glinting malice,  _ “ AND YOUR LUCK’S ABOUT TO  **RUN OUT** .”

_ His vision is stained red, eyes watering at the sudden, inescapable brightness- _

* * *

In the silence of the attic, twin gasps leave Dipper and Mabel’s mouths. Their eyes meet from across the room, brimming with tears and fear.

“Bill?” Dipper asks between gasping breaths of air.

Mabel shakes her head, a resentful, “Gideon,” muttered into a curtain of hair. Dipper doesn’t have to see her face to know her eye-bags match his own.

They sit there for a long time, nothing but puffs of air from the other to remind them that they’re not alone, although, Dipper hasn’t felt truly alone since Bill threatened, “ _ I’LL BE WATCHING YOU _ ,” as they drove him from Stan’s mind. He supposes his sister probably feels the same way, if not for the same reasons.

Across the room, Mabel pulls back her covers, a wordless request and silent offering. Dipper's not sure which of them need it more.

The wood of the attic floor is cold under his feet, but Mabel's bed is warm under the copious blankets that she tucks around them both. Usually, Dipper prefers the chill of the summer night and a light quilt above him, but tonight the scratchy feel of yarn surrounding him acts as a soothing balm to his aching chest.

Or maybe that's just the power of Mabel. Either way, they fall asleep in each other's arms with twin smiles pulling at tear-stained cheeks.

* * *

If their grunkle lets them sleep in the following morning, well, it certainly has nothing to do with the way the knot of worry constricting his heart and lungs finally loosens when he sees the twins looking safe and comfortable for the first time in days.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading and pleeeaaasssee let me know if there are typos because I last-minute edited this like a fool


End file.
